Copenhagen, Denmark
#00163
Case study of
#00169 Provide real-time, location- and time-specific grid carbon-intensity signals as the conversion factor
Implementer
Electricity Maps (founder Olivier Corradi)
Location
Description
Electricity Maps ingests data from TSOs, market operators, and government agencies via an open-source parser system, applies a flow-tracing algorithm to produce consumption-based (rather than production-based) carbon intensity figures, and exposes the results through a commercial API and open-source visualisation app. Coverage spans 50+ countries and 160+ regions at 5, 15, and 60-minute granularity, with 24–72-hour ML forecasts. Emission factors follow IPCC AR5 life-cycle values as the global default, with regional overrides where available. In 2025 the company discontinued its marginal emissions offering, citing verifiability concerns and incompatibility with most reporting regulation; the product now covers only average, life-cycle, consumption-based intensity.
Funding
Lessons learned
- Consumption-based accounting via flow-tracing assigns emissions to where electricity is consumed rather than where it is generated—more accurate for cross-border grids and a deliberate architectural choice that requires a flow-tracing algorithm on top of raw generation data.
- Marginal signals were dropped in 2025 due to verifiability concerns and regulatory incompatibility, showing that the average-vs-marginal decision has real commercial and compliance consequences for any grid-signal provider.
- Open-sourcing the data parsers and emission-factor sources is a trust mechanism: it allows third-party audits of the conversion factor, which is a prerequisite for adoption as a shared standard.
Sources
3Documented Jul 13, 2026